Falcons Zap Zips, 80-62

Wednesday, January 28

Bowling Green, Ohio

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

11-9,4-5MAC

Akron

3-17,0-8MAC

Akron

Bowling Green

Johnea Donahue (3) scored 21 points & added 6 steals, while Kaia Woods (1) had a double-double against Akron

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

January 28, 2026 | Women's Basketball

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Donahue Leads a Host of Key Contributors with 21 Points, 6 Steals

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team withstood a cold shooting start, heating up in the middle two quarters to run away from the University of Akron on Wednesday night (Jan. 28). The Falcons picked up an 80-62 victory over the Zips in Mid-American Conference action at the Stroh Center.

Sophomore Johnea Donahue had game-high totals of 21 points and six steals for the Falcons (11-9, 4-5 MAC), pacing four players in double digits in the scoring column. Junior Paige Kohler scored 19 points, while sophomore Lauren Gerken had 13.

Senior Kaia Woods rounded out the Falcons' double-figure scorers with 10 points. Woods, listed at 5-foot-3, had a double-double in the win against her former team, as the Akron transfer pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

Shaena Brew led the Zips (3-17, 0-8 MAC) with 17 points, while Liz Murphy added 10 off the bench.

The Falcons shot just 21 percent from the floor in the opening quarter, making 3-of-14 shots, but still led by a 16-11 count after 10 minutes due to a 10-of-14 performance at the free-throw line. BG made six more charity tosses in the second quarter, but also began to connect from the floor.

The hosts went 11-for-20 from the field in the third quarter, and were 18-0f-35 in the middle two periods, to open up a sizable lead. BGSU outscored the Zips by a combined 49-30 in the second and third quarters, taking a 29-point lead late in the third.

The Zips made a late run, getting within 12 points with just over three minutes remaining, but Kohler doused any flickering Akron hopes of a comeback with a three-pointer on the next possession, and after Murphy answered with a layup, junior Joniyah Bland-Fitzpatrick's layup began a 6-0 run for the Falcons that put an exclamation point on the victory.

Junior Taya Ellis had eight points and eight rebounds, including seven offensive boards, on her birthday, while Bland-Fitzpatrick scored six points in the win.

The Falcons got to the line 31 times compared to 15 for the Zips, and BG doubled up the visitors, 22-11, in free throws made. BGSU also had advantages of 44-20 in points in the paint and 30-5 in fast-break points.

For the late-night crowd... Highlights of Wednesday's win! 🏀📹 #AyZiggy | #EarnIt

FIRST QUARTER
• The teams combined to make just 7-of-28 shots from the field in the opening quarter, but BGSU went to the line 14 times, making 10, to take a five-point lead after 10 minutes.
• Ni'Rah Clark's layup just 30 seconds into the game was the lone field goal by either team for over three minutes. BGSU's first five points of the game came at the free-throw line.
• The Falcons missed six shots to begin the game, before Kendal Moxey scored nearly four minutes into the contest. That shot tied the game at 7-7. Kaia Woods made a driving layup two minutes later, and BG never trailed again.
• Eight different Falcons scored in the first quarter, but only one, Johnea Donahue, had more than two points.

SECOND QUARTER
• After scoring the final three points of the first quarter, BGSU scored the first five of the second. Donahue's driving layup was followed by a Woods defensive rebound and coast-to coast drive for a layup of her own. A Woods free throw made it a 21-11 game.
• UA put together a 5-1 run, with Ella Wigal's three-pointer cutting the BG lead to six, but a Taya Ellis putback was followed by a Donahue layup that prompted an Akron timeout.
• Again, the Zips got back within six, on a pair of Shaena Brew jumpers, but Paige Kohler knocked down a three-point try, and after another Brews bucket, BG ended the half on an 8-0 run, with Lauren Gerken's layup late in the period giving the Orange and Brown a 37-22 lead.

THIRD QUARTER
• BG's run extended to 11-0 when Ellis found a cutting Kohler for a three-point play to second the second half. UA scored the next five points, but after the teams then traded buckets, BG began to turn defense into offense.
• After an Ellis bucket, Donahue came up with a steal and fed Joniyah Bland-Fitzpatrick for a transition layup. Then, after a Bland-Fitzpatrick layup, the junior found Donahue for a bucket and a 48-29 lead.
• Moments later, a pair of Donahue free throws began a 13-1 run. Gerken scored seven-straight points during that stretch, and the sophomore then fed Kohler for a three-pointer and a 63-34 lead with 1:44 left in the quarter. The Zips responded with a 7-0 run of their own, before Kohler's layup gave the hosts a 24-point advantage after 30 minutes.

FOURTH QUARTER
• Akron began the fourth-quarter scoring with three-pointers from Liz Murphy and Izzy Callaway, and after Donahue's layup, Callaway scored two more buckets to cut the BG lead to 16 as the Falcons used a timeout.
• That lead would be cut to 12 points with 3:14 left in the game on a Murphy putback, but Gerken spotted Kohler for a three-pointer on BG's next possession. After Murphy hit a layup, a Bland-Fitzpatrick bucket began a 6-0 run, with Donahue's three-point play giving the Falcons a 78-59 lead with 90 seconds to go.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons will make the short trip north to the Glass City this weekend, for this season's first meeting with Toledo. The Falcons will face the Rockets on Saturday (Jan. 31), in a "Battle of I-75" contest that will begin at 5:00 p.m. at Savage Arena.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will begin the February portion of the schedule with a game at Kent State. That contest is set for next Wednesday (Feb. 4), before BGSU returns to the Stroh to face Coastal Carolina in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge three days later (Feb. 7). Tipoff for the CCU game – BG's annual Play4Kay game – is set for 2:00 p.m.

FOR MORE INFORMATION...
• For more information on all things BGSU women's basketball, follow the Falcons on Facebook (@BGWBB), Twitter/X (@BGSU_Athletics and @BGSUWBB) and Instagram (@bgsuwbb), as well as on the web at BGSUFalcons.com.